New hotel likely to be built next to Legoland

Construction is expected to begin next year on an expansion of the Grand Pacific Resorts complex next to Legoland in Carlsbad.

A Westin hotel with 71 guest rooms and 36 timeshare units will join the Sheraton hotel and Hilton time-shares already there, which developers say will bring the number of Grand Pacific guest rooms to 780.

The new hotel will be built on a 3.7-acre hilltop above the existing timeshare buildings. The construction site is leased from the city of Carlsbad.

Carlsbad planning commissioners got their first look at the plan this month and said they mostly liked it. They had questions about traffic, parking and Native American cultural resources on the site, but ultimately recommended that the City Council approve the project.

The council is set to consider the proposal early next year.

Grand Pacific Resorts co-President Tim Stripe said the Sheraton hotel has an 83% average occupancy rate, and that’s expected to continue or increase after the new hotel opens in the spring of 2018.

Officials said the hotel could be buoyed by the possible construction of the Caruso Affiliated shopping, entertainment and openspace destination nearby at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The Carlsbad City Council has scheduled a February election to decide whether that project will proceed.

Carlsbad officials favored the Grand Pacific plan over a bid by Lego that proposed building its second themepark-based hotel aimed at recreational visitors. The Grand Pacific project is directed more toward highend business travelers.